UneXpecTeD
by Ang3LiC deViL
Summary: Mieko and her unexpected twists of fate in life
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1  
  
"Ouch!" cried Mieko. She tripped over a huge sneaker on the floor. " Sakuragi!! How many times have I told you not to leave your things lying around? Wake up, you pig!"  
  
Mieko pulled the sheets apart to reveal a figure with bright red hair and a big body. Sakuragi grunted and pulled the sheets to shield himself from the sunlight streaming in from the window. Mieko feeling a little impatient, pushed Sakuragi off the bed. He fell with a loud THUD and cried in pain.  
  
" Serves you right! C'mon now. we're gonna be late for school! Mom's already having a cow downstairs," Mieko exclaimed and pulled Sakuragi into the bathroom. " Hayakku," cried Mieko.  
  
Mieko is a tall and slim girl with short brown hair. To be more specific, chestnut brown. She has a pair of sparkly brown eyes and the strength of a guy. She descended the stairs and proceeded to the dining table, greeting her mother on the way. " Mornin' mom! Sakuragi's already up and he'll be right down," said Mieko.  
  
Minutes later, Sakuragi appeared looking energetic and refreshed. " Mornin' mom!! I'm up already so don't have a cow,ok?" Sakuragi said cheerfully and earned him a knock on the head by his mom. Mieko strapped on her helmet, gloves, elbow pad, knee pad and her rollerblades while waiting for her brother to wear his shoes. After that, the noisy duo set off for school.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They reached the school 10 minutes before the bell would ring.  
  
" Wassup people?" Mieko cried out to a bunch of people who responded with a wave.  
  
Mieko crept up to an average height girl with long black hair. "Boo!" Mieko said. The girl screamed and turned around to come face to face with a girl with a mischievous grin plastered on her face. " MiekoMoeko-chan, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" asked Kana. " Of course not! You're the best friend anyone could have. Don't be angry!" said Mieko cheerfully. The bell rang, signaling for them to go to their respective.classes.  
  
Mieko went straight to the back of the class near the window and put her bag down on the chair. She slumped into her chair and gazed out of the window, taking in the beautiful scenery. No one sat next to her because many feared her fiery temper. Oni sensei came into the class followed by a guy with spiky black hair with a tinge of blue at the end of his spikes. He's very tall and muscular. The class slut, Aika Nida batted her eyelashes at the new guy but he did not pay attention to her. Oni sensei cleared his throat and made an announcement. "Class. we have a new student today and his name is Mitsui Hisashi. Please give him a warm welcome!" The class gave a thunderous applause while Mitsui bowed. " Please take a seat next to Mieko-san," instructed Oni sensei.  
  
Mieko snapped out of her daydream when she heard a chair scraped against the floor which seems to come from the place next to hers. She looked up to find a tall guy with a handsome face smiling down at her. He extended his hand and introduced himself, " I'm Mitsui Hisashi. Nice to meet you." Mieko took his hand graciously and said, " I'm Mieko Sakuragi. The pleasure is mine." Mieko felt a jolt of electricity coursecoruse through her hand the minute she touched Mitsui's hand. 'What was that?' thought Mieko.  
  
Mieko found out that Mitsui is a basketball player and he's a shooting guard in the team and also an excellent three-point shooter. 'No wonder he's so tall and muscular,' Mieko thought to herself. Mieko then realized that she's got a crush on Mitsui. Suddenly, there was a loud voice and found her do'aho of a brother fighting with a tall, pale guy with black hair and cold eyes. While fighting, she heard her brother call that guy "Teme, kitsune!" She tried to suppress her laughter. Finally, after they were separated, she saw a guy with a handsome but emotionless face.  
  
She asked Kana, "Kana-chan, who is that guy that my brother just fought with?" "That's Rukawa Kaede. He's been given the title 'No.1 rookie' in the basketball team. He has a cold exterior and is always hunted by a mob of hormone-crazed teenage girls. I personally think he's not that great of a guy," Kana replied.  
  
But in Mieko's heart. 'I think he's kinda cool and mysterious. but I can't be liking two guys in a day, can I? She just smiled to herself. 


	2. Growing Attraction

Chapter 2  
  
Mieko found herself thinking of Mitsui and Rukawa but she is closer to Mitsui. Due to her closeness to Mitsui, she earned a few dirty looks from a bunch of girls especially from Aika who has been trying to flirt with Mitsui but he just dismissed her.  
  
Mieko whispered into Mitsui's ear, "Hey, you seem to be attracting a lot of attention around here." Mitsui chuckled and whispered back into Mieko's ear, "You're not that bad yourself, cutie pie."  
  
Mieko looked around and found two guys looking at her, one of them blushing when she looked at him. The blushing guy is Fukuzawa and the other is Nakago. Both of them started laughing which earned a stern look from the language teacher who was translating a passage from English to Japanese.  
  
After class.  
  
Mieko and Mitsui were talking and laughing while taking out books for the next class. Mieko abruptly stopped laughing. Mitsui who noticed this also kept quiet. He wondered why she had stopped laughing all of a sudden. Mieko saw a familiar face. Expressionless and cold. 'Rukawa.'she thought as he walked past, not caring about the world around him. Mieko continued to feast her eyes on Rukawa's muscular, 1.87m built as he disappeared to a distance.  
  
"Hellllooo.?? Mieko.??" Mitsui waved his hand in front of her when he noticed she stopped laughing and started staring at that fox.  
  
"Huh? Oh.!! I'm sorry, Mitsui. What were you saying?" Mieko looked at him blankly.  
  
Taken aback that she wasn't paying attention, he replied, " We were talking about how stupid your brothers acts while being around Haruko when suddenly you stopped laughing and started drooling while staring at that kitsune as he walked by."  
  
Mieko blushed and her face turned beet-red. " I.urm..I.. I was just admiring his height. That's all!" as she tried to defend herself.  
  
Mitsui gave her that mysterious look and she shyly turned away. As she slammed her locker door, " C'mon! We'll be late for Math!" She walked quickly to class as Mitsui hastily followed her from behind.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As the last bell rang, Mieko started packing her stuff. She turned around wanting to ask Mitsui something. " Mitsu--?" 'Huh? Where did he vanish to?', she thought. She stuffed whatever books she had left and hurried outside. She saw Mitsui already walking down the hall. "Mitsui!!" she called out as she ran down the hall towards him. "Where are you going?"  
  
" Oh. I was heading for the basketball gym. Practice starts in 15 minutes." He replied. "Oh.I see." 'Hmm... maybe this is the chance for me to see how good that super-rookie is,' she thought to herself as she walked down the hall with Mitsui in silence. Mitsui broke the silence which startled her. " Urm..Mieko?" "Hmm..?" " Are you free now?" he asked. " Um, yeah. Why?" " Well, I was hoping that you would come to practice and maybe watch- -" " Of course I'd love to go and watch you play!" she exclaimed before Mitsui could finish his sentence. ' I thought he'd never ask!', she told herself. " Oh.! Great! C'mon, let's go get changed." He pulled her towards their respective changing rooms.  
  
*~*~*~ They were busy chatting away as they headed for the gym. As Mitsui opened the gym door with Mieko next to him, a tall figure did a slam dunk right in front of them. Mieko was stunned while Mitsui mumbled under his breath, "Show off." It was Rukawa. At the other end of the gym, there were 3 hormone-crazed girls chanting "Ru-ka-wa! Ru-ka-wa! L-O-V-E Ru-ka-wa!" Sakuragi was very annoyed at the cheering brigade. Thus, he chased all of them out and locked the gym doors. The brigade, unsatisfied, pounded on the doors and demanded Sakuragi to let them in. Sakuragi just ignored their pleas.  
  
Suddenly, all the pounding stopped. There was a small knock at the door. " Sakuragi-kun, please open the door," a soft voice called out. Sakuragi's ears perked up as he recognized that sweet, soft voice. Without hesitation, he opened the gym doors and his eyes immediately turned into shape of hearts as he saw a small, cute figure standing in front of him. " Haruko- chan." It was Haruko Akagi. Sakuragi advanced towards Haruko but suddenly, he sensed a dark and towering presence. He looked up and saw Akagi behind him *Boink* Akagi was Haruko's brother and he gave Sakuragi a taste of Gori- punch on the head. "Ite!!" cried Sakuragi while clutching his head.  
  
"Serves you right, red-haired monkey!" cried the cheering brigade. "You can't say that to a tensai!" said Sakuragi and with that. He slammed the gym door shut.  
  
All the members of the basketball team just shook their head except for Rukawa who was still playing basketball by himself. As he bent down to pick up the ball, he looked at Sakuragi who was flirting with Haruko as Akagi just left the so-called 'tensai' alone. "Doaho", muttered Rukawa to himself referring to Sakuragi. But he was glad that it was the exact same doaho that chased the irritating brigade away. What he didn't notice was a pair of brown eyes was staring at him. Mieko had been on the bench, watching every move that Rukawa made. The lay-ups, jump shots, slam dunks. Everything was so perfectly done. *~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mieko left Mitsui on the bench to strike up a conversation with Rukawa. She went up to Rukawa and greeted him.  
  
" Hi! I'm Sakuragi's sister, Mieko." She held out her hand but Rukawa didn't even look at her, what more to shake her hand. Mieko could feel her face flushed with anger and she spat out, " Here I am, trying to be friendly and you just blow me off like a speck of dust?! Who do you think you are? Some cool and mysterious guy with a bunch of hormone-crazed girls chasing you like a dog chases its tail? Well, you're wrong! You're only a snobbish and brainless guy because you never say a complete sentence. Same old word 'doaho' and always direct it to my brother, Sakuragi. Have you ever thought maybe YOU'RE the doaho?! At least my brother knows more words than you do!" With that, Mieko sat back down on the bench with Mitsui leaving everybody shocked.  
  
Rukawa thought, 'Nobody has ever talked so harshly to me before with the exception of Sakuragi. Most girls either blushed or giggled when they try to talk to me. But not this girl with a fiery temper. She was very sharp with her tongue.' Rukawa went back to shooting but most of the balls just bounced off the net because he couldn't concentrate.  
  
Mitsui whispered into Mieko's ear, "You're fiery but that's what I like about you". Mieko looked at Mitsui and saw a sparkle in his eyes and she merely smiled at him. 


	3. Slowly but surely?

Chapter 3  
  
" Mieko-chan, can I walk you home?" offered Mitsui.  
  
It was after basketball practice and Sakuragi decided to stay over at Yohei's house to play Playstation 2. Mieko's parents were in America to attend a wedding ceremony. In other words, Mieko would be alone.  
  
"Thanks for walking me home, Mitsui-kun," she said. "It's my pleasure, Mieko-chan," he replied. ' Okay, here's my chance to get close to her' Mitsui thought.  
  
Somehow, Mieko felt very secure in Mitsui's presence. "Would you like to come in?" she asked. "Sure. Thanx," he replied. As they entered the house, Mitsui scanned the house. "Make yourself comfortable. Oh! Excuse us for my brother's personal corner over there," Mieko exclaimed while pointing at a corner at the end of the room.  
  
Mitsui snickered as he saw basketball shoes being thrown at that corner plus a few pairs of dirty socks. Mieko was in the kitchen to take a couple of canned-drinks as Mitsui plopped himself down on the couch. He hollered to her. " Mieko-chan, why is it that your house is neat and tidy but yet, that personal corner of your oni-chan is left untouched?"  
  
As she brought out 2 cans of Coke, she explained, "Well, mom does all the cleaning and usually she picks up all of Sakuragi's shoes and puts them aside. One day, she just decided to leave it there and talked about his responsibilities in the house, stuff like that. But, my brother, being the lazy person he is, just ignored it and that corner has been that way ever since."  
  
She babbled for quite sometime and little did she realize that Mitsui was staring at her. "Mitsui-kun, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. Mitsui snapping out from his fantasy startled. "Oh. I was just thinking about the coming game with Ryonan," he lied when truthfully, he was admiring her beauty. He then, started talking about school and the chatted the night away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Back at the gym, Rukawa was practicing his skills as usual. But sometime was bothering his concentration. He sat down and took his water tumbler to drink. While he was drinking, he did something that no one would ever think he'll do. He actually sat down to think. He started wondering what made him lose his concentration. While he sat there pondering, an image of a person floated in his mind. The image was that of a girl with sparkly brown eyes and short brown hair. He was thinking of how her fiery temper set her apart from other girls. 'It can't be! I can't be falling for her!' He shook his head vigorously.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"While I was rollerblading one day, I came across a black cat. In order to avoid the cat, I swerve and fell into the drain! Luckily the drain was dry and quite deep. How embarrassing!" confessed Mieko.  
  
Mitsui laughed. "Did anybody help you? I can almost imagine you in that drain." Mitsui laughed again while Mieko hit him playfully.  
  
Both of them were sitting on the couch near each other.  
  
'I really like her. She's so cheerful and she has a warm aura around her. She's very fiery and sharp-tongued too!' Mitsui smiled secretly.  
  
'He's so gentle yet I feel so secure in his presence plus he's tall and muscular. That scar of his near his chin makes him extra macho!' Mieko swooned quietly.  
  
Without noticing, they have chatted for more than 4 hours and Mieko could feel fatigue taking over her. Not long after that, she nodded off to sleep with Mitsui still rambling on. Mitsui then realized that she had fallen asleep and he brought her close to him because the living room was quite cold. After a few nods, she finally rested her head on Mitsui's chest breathing deeply. Mitsui suddenly felt warm all over from his head to his toe. He sat there quietly playing with her soft hair and taking in deep breaths.  
  
'I like the way she smells,' he thought.  
  
Mieko stirred and put her arms around Mitsui's waist, taking him as a bolster. Initially, Mitsui was shocked but after a while, he smiled. Not long after that, Mitsui fell asleep with his cheek on Mieko's head and his hand on her back. 


	4. Challenge

Chapter 4  
  
Morning dawned bright and early when Mieko finally stirred from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes groggily and snuggled closer to the source of warmth. As she snuggled closer, she smelt something husky and it smelt nice so she moved closer. She opened her eyes and saw Mitsui looking down at her. "Good morning!" said Mitsui. Mieko smiled and returned Mitsui's greeting. Then she realized she had been sleeping on Mitsui's chest and sat upright and her head crashed into Mitsui's nose. "Ow!!" Mitsui's hand searched the nose area for any broken bones or bleeding. Mieko apologized profusely to Mitsui while Mitsui was still clutching his nose.  
  
" You were the one providing me with warmth throughout the whole time I was sleeping?" " Yea. that's right and you could've shown me more gratitude than crashing into my nose!" " Gomen-nasai, Mitsui-kun. Is there anyway that I could make it up to you?" " Well, you could give me a kiss on the lips!" Mitsui grinned mischievously.  
  
Mieko started to push him off the couch and Mitsui landed with a loud THUD on the floor. They started wrestling and tickling each other. Being the more superior of the two, Mitsui pinned down Mieko on the floor and started tickling her like there's no tomorrow. Mieko couldn't stop laughing and tried her best to prevent Mitsui from tickling her because she's running out of breath. Mitsui just grinned and continued tickling her. Finally, after all the laughing and pushing, both of them just stopped doing everything and look into each other's eyes. Mieko on the floor and Mitsui on top. Mitsui's eyes burn with passion and admiration. Mitsui's face inched closed to Mieko's face all the while looking into Mieko's eyes.  
  
'Oh my God! He's gonna kiss me! What am I suppose to do?' Mieko panicked as Mitsui was now only an inch away from Mieko.  
  
And then, it happened. Mitsui kissed Mieko on the lips. The kiss was gentle, pure and innocent. Mieko suddenly felt as if she's seeing the world for the first time. The kiss intensified but still gentle it was. Mieko did not stop the kiss nor returned the kiss. Her inner voice commanded her to stop the kiss but another part of her wanted it to last. Her inner voice got the better of her and she pushed Mitsui away.  
  
"Mitsui-kun, it's not right," Mieko said softly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," Mitsui backed away from her.  
  
Mitsui had a disappointed look on his face but after a few minutes of silence and blushing from Mieko, he was back to his bubbly self and asked Mieko whether she wanted coffee. She shook her head and Mitsui went to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mieko sat there touching her lips. She could still feel him. His tender kiss. She sat there and she felt all warm and tingly. In most of her relationships, the guys just wanted pleasure for them thus, their kisses were aggressive and impatient.  
  
'He's different. His kiss was gentle and it felt as if it could protect me form anything,' she thought to herself.  
  
Hoping to get her mind off things, she went and sat near the garden. She sat there and meditated with her hands on her lap. The wind blew gently, making her hair flow freely. Mitsui stood and watch her with her hair flowing while sipping his coffee.  
  
'She's like a goddess in that position.' Everything seemed so peaceful and tranquil. Mitsui felt at ease and enjoyed that moment. ' Ahh.this is bliss. Sipping coffee while watching the person I love.' Mitsui sighed and smiled.  
  
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
" Mieko-chan, wanna watch the basketball practice after school today?" asked Mitsui. "Okay, wait for me after the class end,k?"Mieko replied. "You can count on it!" he exclaimed.  
  
Mitsui pulled Mieko all the way to the gym. They were early so no one was there. Before they went to the gym, Mieko had changed into something more appropriate. Someone had left a ball on the floor. Mieko took the ball and started bouncing the ball. She stood outside the line and shot. The ball went through the net with a 'swish'. Mitsui was stunned. She just shot a three-pointer.  
  
" You can play basketball?" Mitsui asked in astonishment. "Did you think all girls can't play basketball? That's an understatement" Mieko said, her voice sounding a little annoyed. "I thought most girls would just know how to sew and cook. Y'know, the basic stuff a girl's required to do," he explained. Mitsui was getting on Mieko's nerves when she heard what he just said. "That might apply to most girls but certainly not me!"  
  
She shot another three-pointer and she handled the ball better than other girls. Mitsui was amazed and he thought to himself, 'Boy. I'm beginning to like her more and more'.  
  
He woke up from his thoughts when suddenly Mieko asked, "Wanna take up the challenge of playing basketball with me?" 


	5. The Dare

Chapter 5  
  
Both Mitsui and Mieko played basketball for 15 minutes. The game ended at 20-18 in Mitsui's favor. Mieko had 4 consecutive 3-pointers and 3 field goals. Mitsui had 6 3-pointers and one slam dunk. After the game has ended, the basketball team was already in the gym. Kogure, Akagi, Miyagi and Rukawa were shocked. Not at Mitsui, but at the girl with short brown hair and tall slim figure. She had delivered 4 consecutive 3-pointers. Mitsui was not an easy person to elude in a game but she managed to score 18 points.  
  
"She's cute!" whispered Miyagi to Rukawa. 'It's her! The girl who's got the guts to scold me!' Rukawa thought to himself.  
  
Kogure went over to Mieko to compliment her on her shots. Mieko introduced herself to everbody except Rukawa. Rukawa tried to catch Mieko's eye but Mieko avoided any eye contact with him. Rukawa shook his head. 'Why am I bothering whether she's gonna treat me more warmly?'  
  
His inner voice said, 'Because you've fallen in love with her. Because she's not like other girls. Her eyes shows wisdom and it's like a bottomless pit where you will just fall and never stop falling. It's all because you love her.'  
  
His pride prevented him from admitting that he's actually in love with her. He took the ball and made a fade-away shot and the ball went through the net. Before the practice started, Mieko hugged Mitsui and gave him words of encouragement. Mitsui blushed and just nodded. Rukawa felt a wave of jealousy but he forced in down. When training was in prgress, Ayako and Mieko had a little conversation.  
  
"Mieko-chan, you like Mitsui-senpai,ne? "Ayako-chan, I like Mitsui-kun as a friend.Nothing more." "You are in self denial, Mieko-chan." "But I speak the truth. What makes you think it's a lie?" "Because your eyes betray you. You eyes show what your mouth doesn't say." "Hahahaha...you think too much! Even if I did like Mitsui-kun, he might not like me." "I assure you that Mitsui-senpai like you too! His eyes burn with passion when you're around him."  
  
Mieko just smiled and stood there in silence. 'Is it true? Am I falling for Mitsui? It can't be. I only treat him as a friend.' Her mind was plaing games with her feelings. Suddenly, there was a thundering sound. A figure was hanging at the basket. After a few seconds, he landed on the court gracefully. Mieko looked at him. He looked at her and their eyes met. 'It's him! He's the one who always insults my brother!' Mieko's thought about Mitsui shifted aside as anger took over when she looked at him.  
  
'She's looking at me. What do I do now? His consciousness asked? 'Why bother about girls? They don't matter to you,' the egoistic side of him answered. With that, he just picked up the ball and continued the practice.  
  
Mieko continued to observe Rukawa. She admitted to herself that his basketball skills were flawless. Such grace and precision at handling the ball. But, she can't forget her anger that she threw at him when she tried to introduce herself to him. The more she observed Rukawa, the more she got attracted to him with his great basketball skills. As she thought to herself, a ball knocked at her foot. It startled her and she bent down to pick the ball. A hand with pale-looking skin, had his hand on top of hers. She looked up and saw him. She immediately dropped the ball and pulled her hand away.  
  
"S-s-sorry," she apologized. Rukawa picked up the ball and just shrugged her off.  
  
'WHY THAT GOOD-FOR-NOTHING,BAKA!!'. Her mind was on fire. Mieko was terribly pissed off by what had just happened. She sat back down on her bench and waited for the practice game to end. Mitsui offered to walk her home but she kindly replied that she had something to take care of. Without feeling suspicious, Mitsui went off with Kogure. Mieko approached Rukawa and gave him a piece of her mind.  
  
"I've had it with you! Don't you dare think that with that face, you look macho and cool!! Let's settle things between us!" She shouted. He kept on packing his sports bag and completely ignored her. "OK. FINE!! Let's have a game. One on one. Just you and me!" 


End file.
